How to Photograph a White House Chief of Staff

It was 1987, and former Sen­at­or Howard Baker had re­cently been named Pres­id­ent Re­agan’s chief of staff, re­pla­cing Don­ald Regan. Stor­ies like these were Na­tion­al Journ­al’s meat and pota­toes, and I was told to get a photo for the next week’s cov­er story on how Baker’s ap­point­ment would af­fect the White House staff.

A few years earli­er, I had pho­to­graphed Baker in his role as sen­ate ma­jor­ity lead­er, which is when I also met Tommy Griscom, Baker’s press sec­ret­ary. Like most Hill staffers, Tommy was pro­tect­ive of his boss’s time, al­low­ing me only five minutes to take my pho­tos and dis­ap­pear. I ac­cep­ted his con­di­tions, entered Baker’s of­fice with Tommy, and began tak­ing pic­tures. After about four minutes, I thanked the sen­at­or for his time, packed up my gear, and headed to­ward the door. Baker, a renowned photo buff, put his hand on my shoulder and star­ted talk­ing cam­er­as. I looked at Tommy and shrugged. After a few minutes, ob­vi­ously miffed, Tommy turned on his heel and walked out of the of­fice. The sen­at­or and I con­tin­ued to dis­cuss lenses and cam­er­as.

Fast for­ward to 1987. Tommy Griscom was now White House com­mu­nic­a­tions dir­ect­or, and I had to go through him to get my cov­er photo of Baker. When I fi­nally got him on the phone, his an­swer was set in stone: No way could he let me take pic­tures of Howard Baker, who was far too busy to take the time. After much plead­ing, he al­lowed that al­though he couldn’t de­liv­er Baker, he could get me in with the pres­id­ent in­stead. That didn’t help me with the prob­lem at hand, but you don’t turn down a one-on-one with the lead­er of the free world.

A few days later, I ar­rived at the White House Press Of­fice and was es­cor­ted by an aide to the Oval Of­fice wait­ing area. After a few minutes, I was brought in to meet Pres­id­ent Re­agan. I star­ted click­ing away, mov­ing out­side near the Rose Garden for a bet­ter back­ground. Re­agan was ex­ceed­ingly gra­cious and co­oper­at­ive. When I had all the pho­tos I needed, I thanked him and shook his hand. He then asked me if there was any­thing else he could do for me.

“Mr. Pres­id­ent,” I said, “I really need to take a pic­ture of Howard Baker.” With­in two minutes, I was tak­ing pic­tures of Baker, both with and without the pres­id­ent.

"President Trump signed a sweeping spending bill Friday afternoon, averting another partial government shutdown. The action came after Trump had declared a national emergency in a move designed to circumvent Congress and build additional barriers at the southern border, where he said the United States faces 'an invasion of our country.'"

Source:

REDIRECTS $8 BILLION

Trump Declares National Emergency

6 days ago

THE DETAILS

"President Donald Trump on Friday declared a state of emergency on the southern border and immediately direct $8 billion to construct or repair as many as 234 miles of a border barrier. The move — which is sure to invite vigorous legal challenges from activists and government officials — comes after Trump failed to get the $5.7 billion he was seeking from lawmakers. Instead, Trump agreed to sign a deal that included just $1.375 for border security."

Source:

COULD SOW DIVISION AMONG REPUBLICANS

House Will Condemn Emergency Declaration

6 days ago

THE DETAILS

"House Democrats are gearing up to pass a joint resolution disapproving of President Trump’s emergency declaration to build his U.S.-Mexico border wall, a move that will force Senate Republicans to vote on a contentious issue that divides their party. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) said Thursday evening in an interview with The Washington Post that the House would take up the resolution in the coming days or weeks. The measure is expected to easily clear the Democratic-led House, and because it would be privileged, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) would be forced to put the resolution to a vote that he could lose."

Source:

MILITARY CONSTRUCTION, DRUG FORFEITURE FUND

Where Will the Emergency Money Come From?

1 weeks ago

THE DETAILS

"ABC News has learned the president plans to announce on Friday his intention to spend about $8 billion on the border wall with a mix of spending from Congressional appropriations approved Thursday night, executive action and an emergency declaration. A senior White House official familiar with the plan told ABC News that $1.375 billion would come from the spending bill Congress passed Thursday; $600 million would come from the Treasury Department's drug forfeiture fund; $2.5 billion would come from the Pentagon's drug interdiction program; and through an emergency declaration: $3.5 billion from the Pentagon's military construction budget."

Source:

TRUMP SAYS HE WILL SIGN

House Passes Funding Deal

1 weeks ago

THE DETAILS

"The House passed a massive border and budget bill that would avert a shutdown and keep the government funded through the end of September. The Senate passed the measure earlier Thursday. The bill provides $1.375 billion for fences, far short of the $5.7 billion President Trump had demanded to fund steel walls. But the president says he will sign the legislation, and instead seek to fund his border wall by declaring a national emergency."